June 2022 – Church, Discipleship, and Missions

The Foolishness of Misplaced Priorities: Year Two Day 181 Devotional

Passage: Luke 12:1-13:9
Psalm and Proverbs: Proverbs 22:17-29

Luke 12:13-21

¹³Now someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But He said to him, ^]You there—who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over the two of you?” ¹⁵But He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷And he began thinking to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹And I will say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’ ²¹Such is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in relation to God.”

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Living for what the world offers is a misplaced priority and a waste of time. Only those who are heavenly-minded do earthly good. The treasures stored on earth go to someone else eventually. They lack eternal value, but the treasures stored in heaven last forever.

Help me live wisely and for eternal values

Proverbs 22:24-25 (NASB)

Do not make friends with a person given to anger,
Or go with a hot-tempered person,
Or you will learn his ways
And find a snare for yourself.

The Truly Blessed: Year Two Day 180 Devotional

Passage: Luke 11:14-54
Psalm and Proverbs: Proverbs 22:1-16

Luke 11:27-28

²⁷While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” ²⁸But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it.”

After preaching or teaching, someone will usually say to me, no matter how well or poorly I did, “That blessed me.” Jesus said that those who are blessed are not the ones who hear the Word only. The blessed ones are those who hear and obey. As James says, “Let us be doers of the Word and not hearers only.”

Father, thank You that I can read, hear and study Your Word. Empower me to be an obedient doer of Your Word as well.

Proverbs 22:5 (NASB)

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
One who guards himself will be far from them.

The Spirit-filled Life: Year Two Day 179 Devotional

Passage: Luke 9:51-11:13
Psalm and Proverbs: Proverbs 21

Luke 11:13

So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

A Spirit-filled and empowered life is the believer’s for the asking. God doesn’t give us hoops to jump through or walls to climb. He only tells us to ask for the Spirit, and because He is good, He will give us the Spirit.

Father, fill me with the Holy Spirit today.

Proverbs 21:23 (NASB)

One who guards his mouth and his tongue,
Guards his soul from troubles.

A Crucified Life: Year Two Day 178 Devotional

Passage: Luke 9:1-50
Psalm and Proverbs: Proverbs 20

Luke 9:23-26

²³And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it. ²⁵For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world, but loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

To follow Jesus requires self-crucifixion in a figurative sense. The natural man’s desire for what the world offers—comfort, wealth, advancement, security, influence, and reputation—must be put to death and exchanged for a kingdom focus. We live for Christ and eternity, not for the things of this world.

Father, help and empower me to live a crucified life.

Proverbs 20:15 (NASB)

There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;
But lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.

Good Seed: Year Two Day 177 Devotional

Passage: Luke 8
Psalm and Proverbs: 19

Luke 8:4-8

⁴Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. ⁶Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. ⁷Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. ⁸And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Nothing was wrong with the seed. It didn’t have to change or modify to grow and yield a harvest. It only needed the right soil. Nothing is wrong with the gospel. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

Father, may we be faithful to spread the unchanging gospel.

Proverbs 19:17 (NASB)

One who is gracious to a poor person lends to the Lord,
And He will repay him for his good deed.